Dept. of Health changes course on rodeo ticketgate

Laramie, WY – The Wyoming Department of Health has changed course on how it will handle the perks it received as part of a contract to sponsor Cheyenne Frontier Days. The Department sponsored the rodeo to promote its anti tobacco program, using funds from the tobacco settlement agreement. Department of Health spokeswoman, Kim Deti, says because of the sponsorship level they paid for the Department received concert and rodeo tickets and those were going to go to employees who worked at the rodeo. "At this point if that is causing concern for folks we don't want anything to get in the way of our main message so we won't do that, we won't provide the night show or rodeo tickets to our employees."Deti says they haven't decided what they will do with the tickets yet. The governor says he met with the director of the Department of Health and told him that he is fine with the sponsorship but in the future the Department should work out an agreement where they don't get tickets.